Sea is Watching, The

aka: Umi wa miteita
Japan 2002,
Dir. Kei Kumai
In Japanese with English subtitles
Rating: [PG]
Genres: Foreign Cinema, Drama / Martial Arts

Topics: Period - 1800s.

Aroview: Set in the red-light district of 19th century, Edo-period Tokyo, this sensitively mounted drama concerns the lives of prostitutes negotiating the mores of a semi-feudal society.

Taken from the final script by the late Akira Kurosawa, this shows meticulous narrative planning and visual clarity in evoking the 'otherness' of a distant epoch. The storyline revolves around the wise-but-weary Madam of the house, and a naive new girl, who helps conceal a disgraced young samurai from the local police.